Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions improved at a weaker rate than expected in March, adding to concerns over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index decreased to 6.9 this month from a reading of 7.8 in February. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 8.0 in March.
The new orders index fell four points to -2.4, pointing to a small decline in orders, and the shipments index declined six points to 7.9.
Labor market indicators pointed to a solid increase in employment levels and a lengthening in the average workweek.
Pricing pressures remained subdued, with the prices paid index inching down two points to 12.4, and the prices received index at 8.3.
As in February, indexes for the six-month outlook conveyed less optimism than in many of the preceding months, and the capital spending and technology spending indexes declined.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The Empire State index is of interest to traders primarily because it is seen as an early forecast of the national Institute for Supply management factory survey.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0550 from around 1.0541 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4794 from 1.4788 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 121.28 from 121.27 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 100.19, compared to 100.25 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.45% at the open, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures tacked on 0.4%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,154.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,154.70 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $46.44 a barrel from $46.48 earlier.